Hello bookish friends!
First of all, I know, I know.
It’s been a while.
In my defense, I’ve been very busy since the last time I posted. For one, I’ve picked up a few more freelance jobs. Both are more to my liking - meaning I get to write and edit. They're a bit challenging, but in a good way. I'm writing about topics I've always been interested in, but haven't had the opportunity to write about before. Probably the biggest plus is that the work is more consistent and the pay is better.
Work at the paper has also picked up. It’s livestock show season, which means I’m out shooting pigs, cows, goats, and sheep every week. It’s a surprising amount of fun and I enjoy chatting with the ag community in our area. I never had animals or showed them, so I’ve very much been diving into learning more about it and getting on closer terms with the Ag teachers and FFA advisors in our area. FFA and 4-H are REALLY big in the county and it’s amazing to see the kids so invested in raising their animals and really succeeding at it. Plus, farmers/ag people are down-to-earth and funny as hell. I spent about 30 minutes today standing next to the owner of one of the only dairies in our area and the Ag teacher from a town about 15 minutes away, and laughed nearly the whole time. I also got to pet some cows and heifers, so very much a happy gal.
At least I know I can’t impulse buy a cow. I had a very rough time convincing myself that I did not need a mini goat at the last show I covered a week ago.
And, of course, I’ve been working on novels. After taking some time to read through and analyze “Everyone Talks,” I made the decision to take the story from third person to first person. While going through the conversion process, I also did a lot of editing and rewriting. There are now 30 chapters instead of 26. I added more background information and details, which was much needed. I feel like the story and characters are fully fleshed out now and the story has a better flow. I also plugged up a plot hole that was bothering me.
I’m much happier with this version of the story. It still needs some cleaning up, but I feel ready to start looking into querying. Yes, I'm still editing (actually, my friend is editing, and then I'll edit again), but I want to be prepared and know who I'm sending queries to and perhaps even have a draft of those letters made up. That way, it's full-steam ahead once I have a clean copy of the manuscript.
I'm very invested in getting "Everyone Talks" traditionally published. I feel like it has what it takes and I'm also ready to make that jump. I shied away from it in the past because it just didn't feel right. I'm not sure what it is about this book, but it's time.
Plus I have more YA ideas ready to go. I was once told that if you hope to get traditionally published, you have to be ready to write in that specific genre and demographic for your next several books. Well, I'm ready. With the new ending of "Everyone Talks," I can potentially go back and write more books. I already have an idea and direction for Book 2, though I hesitate to commit to writing it just yet. I'm notoriously bad at finishing series, but this one would be one where each is essentially a standalone novel and there's not overarching storyline tying them all together. That way, there's less pressure to get more out quickly and I can revisit the series when I have a strong enough story and motivation.
The next book is "Queen of the Wood," which I'm adapting from two previously written versions (going from New Adult to YA). I already have several chapters written and the entire book plotted out plus the chapter outline completed, so that can be done within a few months once I focus. Beyond that, I have another that's fully plotted (needs a completed chapter outline), yet another that's half-plotted, and a basic idea for another. That's up to five more YA novels that I could write after "Everyone Talks."
In the meantime, I’ve also started working on a brand-new Adult novel that I’m currently planning to be my next self-published novel. And let me tell you, I am beyond giddy about this one. It started with the idea of doing a modern-day retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow but setting it in the Ozark Mountains. And then it morphed into something completely different, though there are still a few nods. It’s kind of like if “I Know What You Did Last Summer” was set in an Ozark town rich with folklore and legends.
The main premise is that a young woman has returned to the small town (Crawford Holler) where she grew up to absolve herself of guilt she’s been carrying around for 10 years. She hopes to do this by convincing her best friends to finally go to the police and tell them what they know about a tragic incident that occurred at a party graduation night. And then people start dying in fabulously horrific ways - people involved with the tragedy that took place 10 years ago.
There’s a lot more to it, but I don’t want to give away too much. I’ve been researching NWA and Arkansas Ozarks to refresh my memory (I was born in Rogers and lived in Rogers and Bella Vista until I was 7, then went to uni in NWA). I’m hoping I can start writing soon, and I’m also planning a weekend trip over there in the spring to visit my half-sister and, hopefully, some fun haunted attractions for inspiration. We’ve been obsessed with trying to find a holler that was apparently named after our family way back in the day, so might do some digging into that along the way.
I also have been playing around with titles and covers (because, for some reason, I can’t start writing a story until I have a cover to help inspire me), and I think I’ve found a winner. It’s very fun and sets the vibe that I’m really hoping to accomplish with the novel. And yea, I’m very much digging “No One Can Hear You Holler” for the title. There will be some dark humor in there, though I’m not planning for it to be a full-on dark comedy.
It’s a mystery/thriller, and there will be paranormal elements to it (it’s the Ozarks, duh). But, depending on how the mood strikes me as I write, it very well could veer into horror. I’ll be plotting some pretty elaborate deaths (which I’ve been dying to write). My best friend/editor/sounding board/publicist is super eager to help me out with this one and is just as excited about it as I am. I told her to start brainstorming elaborate deaths and she giggled.
Giggled. To be fair, I also giggled. I might finally be able to use piranha juice in a novel. Or I might save that for another book...
Well, that’s about all that’s going on right now. Hope life is treating everyone well and that those of you in colder regions are surviving the winter.
Ta-ta for now!
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